She received seven consecutive Emmy Award nominations for "Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series" for her role on Will & Grace, winning twice in 2000 and 2006. She has also received four Screen Actors Guild Awards for her performance, and was nominated for four Golden Globe awards.

In 2005, Mullally saw comedian and actor Bill Hader performing with his Second City class in Los Angeles, and shortly thereafter brought Hader to the attention of Saturday Night Live producer Lorne Michaels. Also in 2005, Mullally was awarded the Women in FilmLucy Award "in recognition of her innovation in creative works that have enhanced the perception of women through the medium of television".[4]

In 1996, she starred in You Never Know at the Pasadena Playhouse. Mullally appeared in 2000 as Pamela in the multiple award-winning production of Chuck Mee's The Berlin Circle, for which she won both the LA Weekly Theatre Award and the Backstage West Garland Award. Mullally starred as Beverly in the acclaimed production of Adam Bock's The Receptionist at the Odyssey Theatre (notably, the longest sold-out run of a show in that theatre's history), for which she was awarded the 2010 Backstage West Garland Award for Best Performance by an Actress.

Personal life[edit]

Mullally's first marriage, in the mid-1990s, was to talent agent Michael Katcher.[10]

In 2000, Mullally met actor Nick Offerman while doing a play together in Los Angeles. The two married in 2003. Offerman guest-starred on Will & Grace during its fourth season; in return, Mullally has guest-starred on Parks and Recreation, on which Offerman plays a lead role. Mullally plays Tammy, the conniving ex-wife of Offerman's character Ron Swanson, appearing in six episodes so far.

In 1999, Mullally commented in an interview in The Advocate magazine, "I consider myself bisexual, and my philosophy is, everyone innately is."[11] In March, 2013, while on the talk show Kathy, she appeared with her husband and fellow guest Michelle Trachtenberg, and when Kathy opened a poll of who is heterosexual, Mullally raised her hand. Subsequent, post-Advocate interviews with websites AfterEllen in 2006 and Queerty in 2009 again supported the stance that Mullally was heterosexual.[12][13] In a 2010 interview with The Advocate she clarified the confusion regarding her comment in 1999, stating: "I know the gay community wants me to be bisexual, but unfortunately I’m not as bisexual as people have wanted me to be. I am married to a man, we’ve been together 10 years, and I’ve never had sex with a woman. But I do still think everybody has an ability to love that isn’t limited by gender."[14]